Most times, it is an area that is hidden by clothes, such as the buttock or inner thigh. The graft is carefully spread on the bare area where it is being transplanted. It is held in place either by gentle pressure from a well-padded dressing that covers it, or by staples or a few small stitches.
The donor-site area is covered with a sterile dressing for 3 to 5 days. People with deeper tissue loss may need a full-thickness skin graft. This requires the entire thickness of skin from the donor site, not just the top two layers. A full-thickness skin graft is a more complicated procedure. Common donor sites for full-thickness skin grafts include the chest wall, neck, back, or abdominal wall. Full-thickness grafts are done when a lot of tissue is lost. This can happen with open fractures of the lower leg, or after severe infections.
You should recover quickly after split-thickness skin grafting. Full-thickness grafts need a longer recovery time. If you received this kind of graft, you may need to stay in the hospital for recovery.
After you are discharged from the hospital, follow instructions on how to care for your skin graft, including:. Plastic surgery. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. St Louis, MO: Elsevier; chap Ratner D, Nayyar PM. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; chap Skin graft. Plastic Surgery, Volume 1: Principles. Editorial team. Description This surgery is usually done while you are under general anesthesia. Our skilled personnel will be happy to discuss your unique medical needs and help you find the best treatment plan for a full recovery.
And remember—no doctor referral is needed. To find out if specialized wound care would benefit you, schedule a evaluation with one of our expert wound care medical staff. What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy? Skin Graft Healing and Aftercare. Keep the area around the skin graft clean and dry. Take any pain medication prescriptions exactly as directed. Talk to your doctor about when you can safely return to work, start driving again, and exercise. Keep all of your follow-up appointments to ensure proper skin graft healing.
Without rapid treatment, an unhealthy skin graft will ultimately die and need to be replaced. Contact Us Today. Get Started. Drink plenty of fluids unless your doctor tells you not to. You may notice that your bowel movements are not regular right after your surgery. This is common. Try to avoid constipation and straining with bowel movements. You may want to take a fiber supplement every day. If you have not had a bowel movement after a couple of days, ask your doctor about taking a mild laxative.
Your doctor will tell you if and when you can restart your medicines. He or she will also give you instructions about taking any new medicines. If you take aspirin or some other blood thinner, ask your doctor if and when to start taking it again. Make sure that you understand exactly what your doctor wants you to do.
Be safe with medicines. Take pain medicines exactly as directed. If the doctor gave you a prescription medicine for pain, take it as prescribed. If you are not taking a prescription pain medicine, ask your doctor if you can take an over-the-counter medicine. If your doctor prescribed antibiotics, take them as directed. Do not stop taking them just because you feel better. You need to take the full course of antibiotics.
If you think your pain medicine is making you sick to your stomach: Take your medicine after meals unless your doctor has told you not to. Ask your doctor for a different pain medicine. When should you call for help? For example, call if: You passed out lost consciousness. You have severe trouble breathing. You have sudden chest pain and shortness of breath, or you cough up blood.
Call your doctor now or seek immediate medical care if: You have pain that does not get better after you take pain medicine. You have loose stitches, or your skin graft comes loose. You have bleeding from the skin graft. You have symptoms of a blood clot in your leg called a deep vein thrombosis , such as: Pain in the calf, back of the knee, thigh, or groin.
Redness and swelling in your leg or groin. You have signs of infection, such as: Increased pain, swelling, warmth, or redness. Red streaks leading from the incision. Pus draining from the incision. A fever. You are sick to your stomach or cannot keep fluids down. Watch closely for changes in your health, and be sure to contact your doctor if: You do not get better as expected.
Where can you learn more? Current as of: March 3,
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